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# Pastrami Reuben at Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen
- URL: https://onesandwich.com/berkeley-saul-s-restaurant-and-delicatessen-pastrami-reuben/
- Published: 2026-10-06T23:10:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-06T23:10:47.000Z
- Description: Pastrami, kraut, swiss, russian on grilled rye. Sandwich Score 89, outstanding. At Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen, Berkeley.
- Author: Andrew Lekashman
- Tags: USA, California, #shop-sandwich, #auto-imported

A sandwich at [Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen](https://onesandwich.com/berkeley-saul-s-restaurant-and-delicatessen/), a deli in Berkeley, California.

Rye BreadRussian Dressing (T…Swiss CheeseSauerkrautPastramiRye Bread

**89**

Sandwich Score  
out of 100 · outstanding

Outstanding, and the road to 90 is open.

Reads as a fully realized reuben, four of six roles on the board.

Balance

98

Harmony

100

Contrast

98

Structure

100

Focus

100

Composition

94

Quality

100

Envelope

99

More salt than 90% of the catalog.

Each bar is one pillar of the score, 0 to 100\. The tick marks what a sandwich at the summit needs; an amber bar is the one holding this sandwich back.

**grilled rye**, toasted: pastrami; kraut; swiss; russian.

## Balance

salt2.2 · 90thacid1.5 · 90thfat2.2 · 51stsweet0.4 · 51stumami1.8 · 64thheat0.4 · 82ndbitter0.2 · 68th

__Flavor axes__
| Axis   | Value | Catalog percentile |
| ------ | ----- | ------------------ |
| salt   | 2.2   | 90th               |
| acid   | 1.5   | 90th               |
| fat    | 2.2   | 51st               |
| sweet  | 0.4   | 51st               |
| umami  | 1.8   | 64th               |
| heat   | 0.4   | 82nd               |
| bitter | 0.2   | 68th               |

**98** Balance, out of 100

The seven flavor axes of the whole sandwich, each summed across its layers. The shaded ring is the catalog's middle 80%; the small number under each axis is where this sandwich falls in the catalog. A shape that sits inside the ring is in the range most sandwiches live in; a spike past it is where this one stands apart.

## What each layer brings

| Layer                                               | Role    | Flavor and texture                       | Points    |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------- | --------- |
| grilled ryescored as Rye Bread                      | bread   | bitter 2 soft crusty                     | the frame |
| pastrami                                            | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender   | **+7**    |
| krautscored as Sauerkraut                           | acid    | acid 4 salt 2 pickled wet                | **+13**   |
| swissscored as Swiss Cheese                         | protein | fat 3 umami 3 salt 2 soft melty          | **+4**    |
| russianscored as Russian Dressing (Thousand Island) | sauce   | fat 4 salt 2 acid 2 sweet 2 creamy saucy | **+7**    |

Points: what the Sandwich Score would lose if that one layer were left out, everything else the same. A negative number means the sandwich scores higher without it. Flavor runs 0 to 5 on each axis.

## Pairings

- **Rye Bread + Pastrami**: pastrami on rye, the new york standard
- **Pastrami + Sauerkraut**: peppery beef, sour kraut: the reuben axis
- **Pastrami + Swiss Cheese**: melted swiss rounds peppered beef
- **Sauerkraut + Swiss Cheese**: melted swiss rounds the kraut's sour
- **Sauerkraut + Russian Dressing (Thousand Island)**: russian dressing was built for kraut

## How to raise it

- Outstanding, not legendary: nothing on this sandwich is house-made, named or exceptional.

[All the sandwiches at Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen](https://onesandwich.com/berkeley-saul-s-restaurant-and-delicatessen/) · [The menu this was read from](https://www.saulsdeli.com/s/05-SANDWICH-gksw.pdf?ref=onesandwich.com) · [Build your own in the Sandwich Builder](https://onesandwich.com/builder/)

Menu read 2026-09; items and prices change. The score is the site's opinion of the recipe as listed, not a review of the shop; tiers and house-made marks follow the menu's own wording.